Ornamental hangers are frequently used to hang or suspend items therefrom for displaying the same. The items are often ornamental to express special holiday atmospheres around the home and office. For example, during the Christmas holiday, stockings, Christmas tree ornaments and other items are often hung from mantles, window sills, and the like. Thanksgiving holiday ornaments are often displayed in houses to express the atmosphere of the holiday.
Ornamental hangers can be of many designs, and may often themselves be ornamental. As noted above, it is a common practice to hang ornaments such as Christmas stockings, and the like, on a mantle or ledge to display the same. Rather than using a nail or other hanger that is permanent, temporary ornament hangers are used so that they can be placed on the mantle, shelf or ledge to hang the items therefrom, and thereafter remove the hanger without marring or leaving a hole in the woodwork. Temporary ornament hangers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,819 by Ronia; U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,827 by Kacines; U.S. Pat. No. 7,988,116 by Kacines; pending design application serial no. 29/370,683, filed Aug. 21, 2010 by Kacines; and D447,936 by Kacines. Other ornament hangers are available which include various types of metal, glass and resin figurines attached to respective hook-like devices.
Many ornamental hangers are constructed and otherwise shaped to accommodate a particular type of mantle or edge on which it rests. A common problem with many hangers is that when a weighty item is suspended therefrom, the hanger tends to be moved outwardly toward the edge of the mantle. This is because the position of the weighty item tends to move the hanger so that the item is positioned vertically under the point of contact of the part of the hanger that rests on the mantle. Often, the hanger rotates or adjusts until this position can be achieved, or more often, other parts of the hanger engage the edge of the mantle and prevent further rotation of the hanger. It is at this point that the hanger tends to slide toward the edge of the mantle.
The shape of the hanger can be made to accommodate the edge of the mantle, shelf or window edge, but the resulting utilitarian shapes would often not be decorative and thus not aesthetically pleasing.
From the foregoing, a need exists for an ornamental hanger that is self-adjusting with respect to the shape of the edge of the mantle on which it rests. Another need exists for an ornamental hanger that resists movement on a mantle while weighty or other items are suspended therefrom. Another need exists for an ornamental hanger that is itself ornamental, but yet includes a portion that extends outwardly away from the edge of the mantle to rotate according the shape or thickness of the mantle.